Fire extinguisher



July 17, 1956 R w, MCFARLIN 2,754,913

FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed March 31, 1954 IN V EN TOR.

A TfdEA Y5 United States Patent FIRE EXTINGUISHER Robert W. McFarlin,Milwaukee, Wis.

Application March 31, 1954, Serial No. 419,968

6 Claims. (Cl. 169-28) This invention relates to a fire extinguisher.

A can of fire extinguishing fluid of any nature (carbon tetrachloridebeing an example) is provided with supporting means which, in theinstant device, comprises a screw having its top spot welded to what isnormally considered the bottom of the can so that the can may besuspended by threading the screw into an overhead support of any kind.It may, for example, be attached by the screw to the ceiling of a roomin which a fire might start.

The can has a friction type cover within which are fastened one or moreexplosive charges such as may be provided by common fire crackers. Thefuse or fuses of the fire crackers are led through an opening in thefriction cap. Any convenient means, such as plastic adhesive, is used toposition the explosive charge on the interior surface of the frictioncap and to seal the fuse means to the exterior surface, while closingthe hole through which the fuse extends.

In thecase of fire, the fuses are ignited to detonate the explosivecharge, thereby blowing off the cap and widely distributing the fireextinguishing liquid.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a view in perspective of an assembled fire extinguishing unit.

Fig. 2 is a detailed view in transverse section through the friction capand can.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cap showing the fire crackersattached to the inside thereof, portions of the plastic embeddingmaterial being broken away.

Fig. 4 is a view taken in cross section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The can 1 has a supporting screw 2 mounted to the closed can bottom 3 byspot welding or otherwise to provide means for suspending the can 1 froma ceiling or other overhead support.

The can has a conventional friction cap 4 detachably closing itsotherwise open end to retain within the can a body 5 of fireextinguishing material which, for the purposes of the present disclosuremay be assumed to be carbon tetrachloride.

The friction closure cap 4 of the can has an aperture at 6 through whichfuse means 7 extends to one or more explosive charges which are hererepresented by ordinary fire crackers 8. A mass of plastic cement of anydesired type is used at 9 to imbed the explosive charge or charges andto secure the explosive to the inner surface of the friction closure 4.In practice, I have used the material known commercially as liquidsolder. A body 10 of the same material envelopes the fuses 7. It notonly does not interfere with the ignition of the fuses, in the event offire, but seems to facilitate ignition.

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When the fuses are ignited, the flame is speedily propagated to theexplosive charge or charges 8. Since the closure 4 is held only byfriction, the detonation of the explosive readily blows off the closure.At the same time the fire extinguishing contents of the can 1 areprojected outwardly in a broad conical pattern.

The plastic material not only anchors the explosive charge and the fusebut also protects both against dampness. The apparatus will, therefore,remain effective indefinitely.

I claim:

1. A fire extinguisher comprising a container having fire controllingmaterial therein, a removable bottom closure for the container with afriction fit to said container, an explosive charge within the containerconstituting means for dispersing such material and means extendingthrough a portion of the container for detonating said charge, saidcharge, upon explosion, comprising means for releasing said friction fitand blowing said closure from said container for release of said firecontrolling material through the open bottom of the container.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the charge has a fuse constituting thedetonating means, the container having an aperture through which suchfuse extends.

3. The device of claim 2 in which the charge and fuse are imbedded in aplastic protective coating.

4. The device of claim 3 in which the removable bottom closure isprovided with said aperture and provides a mount for the explosivecharge on its inner face and the fuse on its outer face.

5. A fire extinguisher comprising a container having a fireextinguishing liquid content and provided with a closure at one of itsends sealing said liquid content in the container, a support for thecontainer connected therewith at its other end, an explosive chargemounted within the container and a fuse leading to said charge and forwhich the container is apertured and means sealing the aperture aroundthe fuse, said sealing means completely enveloping the fuse and theexplosive charge and fastening the fuse and the charge to the containerclosure, the said aperture being provided in the closure and theexplosive charge being mounted on the inner face of the closure, thefuse being disposed on its outer face.

6. A fire extinguisher comprising the combination with a can having apermanent bottom at one end provided with a projecting screw and havinga friction closure at its opposite end, of a fire extinguishingnon-aqueous liquid within the container and retained by the closure, anexplosive charge mounted on the inner face of the closure, a fusemounted on the external face of the closure and extending through anaperture with which the closure is provided and a protective coatingconnecting the charge and the fuse to the closure and sealing theaperture in the closure, the ignition of the fuse being adapted toeffect detonation of the charge to blow off the closure and distributethe liquid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS655,599 Braunwalder Aug. 7, 1900 1,297,172 Hughes Mar. 11, 19191,489,703 Johnson Apr. 8, 1924 2,057,840 Neumann Oct. 20, 1936

5. A FIRE EXTINGUISHER COMPRISING A CONTAINER HAVING A FIREEXTINGUISHING LIQUID CONTENT AND PROVIDED WITH CLOSURE AT ONE OF ITSENDS SEALING SAID LIQUID CONTENT IN THE CONTAINER, A SUPPORT FOR THECONTAINER CONNECTED THEREWITH AT ITS OTHER END, AN EXPLOSIVE CHARGEMOUNTED WITHIN THE CONTAINER AND A FUSE LEADING TO SAID CHARGE AND FORWHICH THE CONTAINER IS APERTURED AND MEANS SEALING THE APERTURE AROUNDTHE FUSE, SAID SEALING MEANS COMPLETELY ENVELOPING THE FUSE AND THEEXPLOSIVE CHARGE AND FASTENING THE FUSE AND THE CHARGE TO THE CONTAINERCLOSURE, THE SAID APERTURE BEING PROVIDED IN THE CLOSURE AND THEEXPLOSIVE CHARGE BEING MOUNTED ON THE INNER FACE OF THE CLOSURE, THEFUSE BEING DISPOSD ON ITS OUTER FACE.